A drubbing at the hands of West Indies, a sensational run chase against South Africa, and a nerve-jangling finish against Afghanistan - England have perhaps had the most interesting campaign in Group 1, and they haven't even had their customary big-tournament meltdown yet. There is a chance they will not have a meltdown at all. Eoin Morgan leads a side that has a little steel to it, which perhaps has not been the case in previous England sides. They have withstood onslaughts, and done enough - even if it is just enough - to win.

Despite the middling total against Afghanistan, England's batting still appears their latest asset. Joe Root is the form batsman from either side, and there is a spark to that top order, which has poise, imagination and power in equal measure.

They have also handled spin moderately well, so far in the tournament. They played Samuel Badree out safely for 34 runs in their first match, which is much better than the performance Sri Lanka mustered against the same bowler. Imran Tahir didn't rattle them either. Sri Lanka will have been encouraged that Afghanistan's talented Rashid Khan did claim figures of 2 for 17 on a slow Delhi surface however, and will hope their own leggie, Jeffrey Vandersay, can inflict similar damage.

If it's Sri Lanka's spinners England are worried about, Sri Lanka should be worried about Sri Lanka's batsmen. It would be a waste of time to unpack the top order's failure against West Indies, because those same flaws had been evident in Sri Lanka's previous series, and the one before that, and the one before even that. There have been hard words, from fans and ex-players alike, from across the Palk Strait. "Take responsibility," is an oft-heard refrain. Encouragingly, the team has at least stopped referring to their current state as a "transition period".

Defending champions Sri Lanka have to win to stay alive (barring a no-result), after West Indies overcame South Africa in Nagpur. With just one game remaining, England will book their berth in the semi-finals with a victory, but a loss - by any margin - will see them eliminated since their net run rate is lower than that of South Africa.

He's promised much in the competition to date but, with a top score of 30 in three innings, more is expected of Jos Buttler, England's T20 vice-captain and superstar-in-waiting. With the sharp end of the tournament now upon England, there's no time to fit in another dress rehearsal. Against Afghanistan, Buttler was guilty of attempting too much too soon on a wicket that demanded a hint of circumspection. Admittedly, it took a scorching catch to remove him but, given how destructive he can be when he gets going, he'll know this time around that he can afford a few sighters to find his range.

In the midst of an otherwise forlorn performance against West Indies, the batting exploits of Thisara Perera were a lone crumb of comfort. From the depths of 47 for 5, his 40 from 29 balls at least offered his side a token target to defend. As it happens, he then conceded the contest in the space of two legal deliveries, but his introduction in the 19th over - with just seven runs to defend - was an unfair reflection of his status as Sri Lanka's go-to death bowler. In the absence of Lasith Malinga, recovering back home from a knee injury, he has big shoes to fill.

Teams news

Alex Hales was playing football with the rest of the squad before training on Friday, so he seems to be on the mend after his back injury. James Vince will make way at the top of the order if so. Liam Dawson's international debut is sure to be put on the back-burner following the success of Liam Plunkett against Afghanistan, plus the fact that Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid bowled just five overs between them in that match.

Both teams expected the pitch to play slow - as it did for England during their match against Afghanistan. That doesn't necessarily mean it will take much turn, though. The weather is not expected to impede play.

Stats and trivia

Joe Root is the highest tournament run-scorer of the batsmen who have only played in the Super 10s, hitting 143 runs at a strike rate of 162.50.

Thisara Perera's highest T20I score remains the 49 off 25 he hit against England at the Oval in 2014.

England's last meeting with Sri Lanka at the World T20 was also their sole highlight of a disappointing campaign. On a memorable evening in Chittagong, Alex Hales toppled the eventual champions with a brilliant 116 not out from 64 balls. His onslaught secured a six-wicket victory and remains England's only T20I hundred.

Sri Lanka's sole WT20 victory in three previous meeting with England came on home soil in 2012, a 19-run win in Pallekele where the absent Malinga took 5 for 31, his best figures in T20Is.

Quotes

"Being from England and facing completely different conditions for the majority of your career, you've got to work pitches out pretty quickly and be quite smart. The guys who have experience of playing in India have really got to try and work that out and communicate to the rest of the guys."Joe Root on sizing up Indian pitches, especially when setting a total

"In T20 formats it's always better to chase. When you're batting first you don't have a target in your mind, but you do when you're chasing. You realise first six overs how you need to bat. Chasing is an advantage as far as I'm concerned."Sri Lanka vice-captain Dinesh Chandimal sets out his preference for batting second

got to agree with a lot of other posters too, Morgan shouldn't be batting above Buttler

wereyorkshire
on March 26, 2016, 13:56 GMT

Liam plunkett at 11-thats an absolutely ridiculous batting line up

3Lions_RIP
on March 26, 2016, 13:52 GMT

@RICHARDROR ... How come you have forgotten the champions in waiting, India? They have played against superior bowling attacks and have still qualified for the S/F. England, SA or SL will be cannon fodder for their batsmen and i hope India don't have to face SL or England in finals. If so, The finals will be one sided in India's favor. SA at least have the batsmen to be competitive with India although they will have a hard time beating the intelligent and innovative kiwis.

kahvas
on March 26, 2016, 13:48 GMT

@sarath: I would stop talking about other teams. your only hope is a guy close to retirement. rest of the lot is, well everyone knows.

kahvas
on March 26, 2016, 13:46 GMT

England will have to play poorly to loss against the weakest Asian team

Cyrus_The_Virus
on March 26, 2016, 13:41 GMT

England is my 2nd favorite team after India. I hope they play Billings & Dawson. Maybe they can do without Jordan & Stokes coz their record against SRL bowlers in the subcontinent pitches are very poor from both of them.

Valavan
on March 26, 2016, 13:37 GMT

SL banking ob luck but they never deserve semi final birth this time. SL fans just hyping here unnecessarily. what batting strength SL has Dilshan??? how poor a team banking on a 40 yr old. Take in T20 format. chandimal is poor man's hales. tissare is poor man's stokes. no decent bowlers except 38 yr old herath. SL team banking their hopes on a 40 yr old and a 38 year old, and with exception of Angelo, SL have just 8 passengers in their team. cricinfo please publish

M.s. Venkatraghavan
on March 26, 2016, 13:37 GMT

Sri Lanka must win both their matches to enter semis which is a tough ask. But if south Africa wins while England drops points then on better net run rate may favour south Africa. Interesting situation only when England falters.

srini.n
on March 26, 2016, 13:36 GMT

Wow MS.CRICKET, what a ridiculous notion !! Your supposedly weak group has got the 3 previous champions (SL, WI & Eng). Even granting that SL has weakened after the exit of Sangakkara & Jayawardena, the other 3 teams are pretty strong :
* WI have always been good in this format
* England have been a revelation post the rejig after the disastrous 2015 World Cup
* SA are always strong in the group stages though the Knockout phase knocks them out.

The other Group has :
* Pakistan which has been consistently mediocre for quite some time now
* NZ which is talented but always a "nearly" there side but not quite at the finish line
* Aus strong on paper but a very patchy T 20 record
* India the only strong side as per expert opinion

So get your facts right before making your conclusion. I guess you are an Indian fan, unable to digest its troubles (though the team is still alive in the tournament) and hence want to believe that it is because of the "strong" teams in its group.

Dhawala05
on March 26, 2016, 13:31 GMT

Come on srilanka you can win this Go lions go

wereyorkshire
on March 26, 2016, 13:58 GMT

got to agree with a lot of other posters too, Morgan shouldn't be batting above Buttler

wereyorkshire
on March 26, 2016, 13:56 GMT

Liam plunkett at 11-thats an absolutely ridiculous batting line up

3Lions_RIP
on March 26, 2016, 13:52 GMT

@RICHARDROR ... How come you have forgotten the champions in waiting, India? They have played against superior bowling attacks and have still qualified for the S/F. England, SA or SL will be cannon fodder for their batsmen and i hope India don't have to face SL or England in finals. If so, The finals will be one sided in India's favor. SA at least have the batsmen to be competitive with India although they will have a hard time beating the intelligent and innovative kiwis.

kahvas
on March 26, 2016, 13:48 GMT

@sarath: I would stop talking about other teams. your only hope is a guy close to retirement. rest of the lot is, well everyone knows.

kahvas
on March 26, 2016, 13:46 GMT

England will have to play poorly to loss against the weakest Asian team

Cyrus_The_Virus
on March 26, 2016, 13:41 GMT

England is my 2nd favorite team after India. I hope they play Billings & Dawson. Maybe they can do without Jordan & Stokes coz their record against SRL bowlers in the subcontinent pitches are very poor from both of them.

Valavan
on March 26, 2016, 13:37 GMT

SL banking ob luck but they never deserve semi final birth this time. SL fans just hyping here unnecessarily. what batting strength SL has Dilshan??? how poor a team banking on a 40 yr old. Take in T20 format. chandimal is poor man's hales. tissare is poor man's stokes. no decent bowlers except 38 yr old herath. SL team banking their hopes on a 40 yr old and a 38 year old, and with exception of Angelo, SL have just 8 passengers in their team. cricinfo please publish

M.s. Venkatraghavan
on March 26, 2016, 13:37 GMT

Sri Lanka must win both their matches to enter semis which is a tough ask. But if south Africa wins while England drops points then on better net run rate may favour south Africa. Interesting situation only when England falters.

srini.n
on March 26, 2016, 13:36 GMT

Wow MS.CRICKET, what a ridiculous notion !! Your supposedly weak group has got the 3 previous champions (SL, WI & Eng). Even granting that SL has weakened after the exit of Sangakkara & Jayawardena, the other 3 teams are pretty strong :
* WI have always been good in this format
* England have been a revelation post the rejig after the disastrous 2015 World Cup
* SA are always strong in the group stages though the Knockout phase knocks them out.

The other Group has :
* Pakistan which has been consistently mediocre for quite some time now
* NZ which is talented but always a "nearly" there side but not quite at the finish line
* Aus strong on paper but a very patchy T 20 record
* India the only strong side as per expert opinion

So get your facts right before making your conclusion. I guess you are an Indian fan, unable to digest its troubles (though the team is still alive in the tournament) and hence want to believe that it is because of the "strong" teams in its group.

Dhawala05
on March 26, 2016, 13:31 GMT

Come on srilanka you can win this Go lions go

Jose...P
on March 26, 2016, 13:27 GMT

The one player, I am most happy about, is Liam Plunkett. At one point, I think, it was last year, I didn't even understand, why he was dropped.

landl47
on March 26, 2016, 13:25 GMT

If you want to know what works, look at the sides that are doing well. WI beat SA by bowling everything off-speed to them- they didn't pick a single quick bowler, just medium pacers and spinners. NZ haven't had Boult and Southee on the field yet in this tournament; today they bowled out Bangladesh for 70 and their only faster bowler was McClenaghan who bowled one over.

On the other hand, England, with a battery of 4 seamers, have struggled; SA, with a battery of 4 seamers, couldn't defend 229; Pakistan, with maybe the best seam bowling attack in the competition, is out.

Australia, who seem to learn faster than other sides, beat Pakistan with off-speed stuff, mainly Faulkner bowling out of the back of his hand. The only quick bowler Australia used, Coulter-Nile, was 0-45.

Surely it's pretty easy to see that an attack of Stokes, Jordan and Plunkett is not ideal for these conditions? If England lose today with Dawson sitting on the bench, they only have themselves to blame.

Realdealkiwis
on March 26, 2016, 13:25 GMT

Agree ms cricket! Although putting Federer in that group these days is a bit of a stretch, hope he's not 'NZ'

sanjay13881
on March 26, 2016, 13:19 GMT

Westindies vs India/Australia. And Newzeland vs Srilanka/England

armchair_critic007
on March 26, 2016, 13:18 GMT

Ms.Cricket.@ The pools were allocated according to the ICC WORLD T20 RANKINGS as of that time.Sl and WI were ranked 1 and 3 at that said time.

Ground-boy
on March 26, 2016, 13:17 GMT

Must win game for both. Hard to bat surfaces create more for decision makers. Irregular use of DRS throughout the series. Superficial observers find flaws in DRS after decades of its use. No reviews but alien calling to DRS at sole will of decision makers. When one compare based only on ENG- AFG and SL-AFG games, SL favourites today. But SL have to resurrect believing in their future proofing fast bowler and quality spines, finding compatible signature/s when batting first or chasing ignoring superficial comments. It is wins needed beat ENG and further confirm place in next game.

venkat90
on March 26, 2016, 13:13 GMT

SL can defeat England only if England play their worst game this year.

Shanerobinson
on March 26, 2016, 13:13 GMT

England will win this game easily. Sri Lanka are a very poor cricketing nation at the moment. None of their current players would be chosen for nz or Australia

RohanMarkJay
on March 26, 2016, 13:04 GMT

Best of luck Sri Lanka. One of South Asia's most consistent and best South Asian Cricket teams in limited overs Cricket 50 and 20 over format. Best of luck Sri Lanka. Hope you win. :)

CricketEgg
on March 26, 2016, 13:03 GMT

Much happier to have Plunkett in the side now rather than Topley. Gives us two real competitors and variation in both batting and bowling.

Topley looks far from the finished article and out of his depth.

If the pitch is slow I would also like to see Dawson replace Jordan, justifying his selection. Surely Dawson couldn't bowl and worse?

RohanMarkJay
on March 26, 2016, 12:57 GMT

Best of luck Sri Lanka one of South Asia 's best limited overs cricket team for a very long time.

clean_game
on March 26, 2016, 12:55 GMT

People , why are you claiming SL don't win any games?/ They won against UAE and Oman, did you all forgot that??

Log Out
on March 26, 2016, 12:46 GMT

Hopefully England will win and want to see M.Ali to open with Hales and J.Roy Batting at 7 or 8

Cricinfouser
on March 26, 2016, 12:36 GMT

it's interesting that the tournament is in the subcontinent and all the subcontinental teams are doing poorly.

SL_D
on March 26, 2016, 12:29 GMT

@MS.CRICKET lets see in semi which group has strong teams.

iruku_rocks
on March 26, 2016, 12:13 GMT

If england wins this match they go to semifinals but of they lose they are practically out of it. I like to see England going out early. Good luck SL!!! Play a good game.

Dallas Joshua
on March 26, 2016, 11:49 GMT

Sl we are with you all the way through thick and thin all the best in todays game vs England

richardror
on March 26, 2016, 11:45 GMT

Ms. Cricket - how can you say that England are a weak team after England just beat Pakistan 3-0 in t20s, smashed New Zealand in the warm up as well as beating Australia and India in the last t20s that they played against them. England would clearly be the strongest team in the other pool, as would the West Indies.

richardror
on March 26, 2016, 11:43 GMT

Ms. Cricket - England are third favourites to win for me, after New Zealand and West Indies.

priceless1
on March 26, 2016, 11:31 GMT

Although we dont brag about it like our neighbors ,please dont forget SL is the current champions/holders of the WC ,respect that!!

SRTforpresident
on March 26, 2016, 11:27 GMT

Lot of fans might disagree but i really think this SL team has potential . They just have to perform as a unit and everything will be fine . All the best Sri Lanka .

Ms.Cricket
on March 26, 2016, 11:24 GMT

Whoever allocated the pools have no idea. One pool has 4 strong teams the other 4 weak sides, not fair. It's like having Federer, Jokovic, Nadal, Murray all in one half of the tennis draw. England do not deserve a semi-final spot nor Sri Lanka.

Thewinner2014
on March 26, 2016, 11:23 GMT

Yes i also think transition period is a lame excuse. IF we look at the current team, Herath and Dilshan hv been playing international cricket since 1999, Kulasekara since 2004, Kapugedara since 2006, Mathews since 2008, Chandimal and Thisara since 2010, Thiri, Senanayake and Lakmal since 2011. Only Chameera, Siri, Vandrsay and Dasun from 2015. But Siri has been palying 1st class since 2005. 11 players of the current side hv more than 5 yrs of international experince. So where is this Transition????? Problem is current players not playing cricket up to the standard. They are so negative in their approach. Other thing wrong players are selected for wrong format.

Sarath Weerasekara
on March 26, 2016, 10:45 GMT

This tournament has been a wonderful tournament so far. Forever tournament favorites SA is on the brink of elimination. Self proclaimed pre tournament favorites India after a humiliation from NZ, is fighting hard for survival. Less fancied NZ and WA are doing wonders. Bottom seeded BAN and AFG once again hit the rock bottom. Depending champion SL is having very thin hopes for the next round.

Cricinfouser
on March 26, 2016, 10:29 GMT

VKUMAR_086 Yeah we so how the tournament favourites faired against Bangladesh.... Keep holding to your luck mate you guys are gonna need it.

Mervo
on March 26, 2016, 10:19 GMT

England have had such have N easy draw. They have beaten no one of consequence. The pools are so different.

NujSl
on March 26, 2016, 9:54 GMT

If SL wants to win in future then they must drop this non performers ( like of pukagedara and bindumal and kerimaanna will not even get a chance in indian C team)
as for this match its 80:20 for England hope for a miracle

VKohlitheGreat
on March 26, 2016, 9:49 GMT

Oh this 'SL : best touring side from the SC' is so going down the gutter like 'Sanga : next to Bradman' did.. atleast in the real world that is.. SL fans need to realise SL is loosiing everything at home, forget winning away. Someone just pointed out Chandimal can be the next Aravinda, lol.. Really? Are you trying to degrade Aravinda here?

Herath-UK
on March 26, 2016, 9:49 GMT

@sweet2hrme, surely SL will try to help you by winning this encounter. By the way, what happened you dear, coming with all the pomp with best form & your best players in the team, unlike SL in a 'transitional phase', are you going to stick to your chokers tag again?

gimme-a-greentop
on March 26, 2016, 9:34 GMT

SL can rely on the support of SA for today at least. Spinners will have to bowl well. On paper it's England all the way.

rse1
on March 26, 2016, 9:31 GMT

Quite comical to me that SA supporters are pleading with Sri Lanka to do SA a favour by beating England so that then SA has a chance to beat that same Sri Lanka side in order to get to the semis. Having lost control of their own destiny by failing to beat England when they had a golden opportunity it will serve you right if Sri Lanka beat both England and SA and go through themselves

3Lions_RIP
on March 26, 2016, 9:25 GMT

If Morgan fails in today's loss, he should at least be relieved of T20 captaincy. He was only influential when KP was around with excellent supporting role. Now he looks lost. Root's statement about guys having experience playing in India is pretty straight on Morgan. Somehow, being an England fan I wouldn't want them in SF now that the giants have woken up by winning a lost game against Bangladesh. Cause England would need a miracle to beat in form and tactically stronger kiwis. The latter have started thinking like their mighty Rugby counterparts. If a miracle does happen with England squaring up with India in final, even another miracle won't be sufficient to stop the rampaging Indians. Cause they have come back froom the dead and can't be beaten. They are already the champions. The rest are playing for 2nd place which ain't good enough. To ensure that we don't have any one sided conrests, a SA V NZ S/F is good for cricket and this tournament.

Kasun Amila
on March 26, 2016, 9:16 GMT

THE BEST SL TEAM LINE UP FOR REMAINING MATCHES: 1. Dilshan 2. Thisara 3. Milinda 4. Chandimal 5. Thirimanna 6. Mathews 7. Dasun 8. Shehan 9. Herath 10. Chameera 11. Vandersay@ dilli, thisara,milli can attack in first six overs. Chandi,thiri,mathews can play middle overs. Dasun,shehan can attack in last overs.if we got good start,at no4 chandi can use as aggressive mode and if first three fails, chandi,thiri can defend and accumulate runs.Mathews at no6 can be aggressive or defend according to situation. PLS SL PLAY THIS LINEUP & U CAN WIN 2016 WC. TRUST UR SRILANKAN FANS. GOOD LUCK.

Herath-UK
on March 26, 2016, 9:12 GMT

Will it turn out to be a battle between the two greats Mahela Vs Sanga, now in the SL squad as a selector. Well who knows,Sanga may try to prove he has a better brain & tactics than his buddy ( so hope it happens here).

crrkiran
on March 26, 2016, 9:08 GMT

when Dhoni dropped aged players from the team to build a new team, many people criticized him. Had he not done that, India would have been struggling like Sri Lanka

Nope,not this Sri Lankan team.As a neutral I wud want a good game,and I wud hav liked SL to win coz it wil help SA,but no way here.They wil lose,definitely.England are a good side,and their batsmen wil wallop the Sri Lankan bowlers.Slow pitch or not,they wil score more.Jason Roy to be d star,just a hunch.

After six day break SL may have planned well how to tackle experienced england side. SL fans are little bit worried about the inclusion of thirimanne again.selectors should have gone for hard hitting young blood for the last two matches. namely jayasuriya and D. shanaka . as mentioned by dinesh chandimal middle order must give there best and rotate the strike to give big total and not to leave tail enders to get panic and upset the game. good luck SL

JG2704
on March 26, 2016, 8:24 GMT

A final out of the box thought and my friend CodAndChips could maybe help me out here. I'm wondering about Vince as a bowling option and whether he has bowled in the nets? I checked his domestic record and although it is from a very small amount of overs his domestic ave and SR is considerably better than Stokes/Jordan's - his ER being 6.75. It has him down as a medium bowler which I guess you'd describe Bopara as. We don't have Bopara or anyone like him here and I wonder if he could even be considered as a bowling option on such a pitch. I'm guessing we won't be thinking outside the box but I'm interested in others' esp C&Cs thoughts on this?

Kushal.Veerarathne
on March 26, 2016, 8:23 GMT

Coming from an ardent SL fan :

I seriously do not understand why people continuously give the excuse
of 'Transition period' of this SL team.

Here are the list of SL players in the current squad who have played minimum of
5 years now.

That is, 70-80% of players have played enough cricket for minimum of 5 years
and is definitely LUDICROUS to be called a transition team. Infact 8 of the players
in the squad were even part of the last T20 WC. So, guys, please do not
make ourselves look ugly by calling this phase as 'Transition phase'.

Ajshan
on March 26, 2016, 8:21 GMT

SL will win. ENG is a good side but they cannot overcome the spin of SL but todays main destoyer will be Dushmantha Chammera!

JG2704
on March 26, 2016, 8:17 GMT

In Dawson's last game he bowled alongside Stokes and Jordan. Jordan's returned with an ER of 8.5 , Stokes 3 overs went at 11 and Dawson's 3 at 7. Now being that the game was in India I'd say that it's of significance. You also look at that game and Plunkett's spell was significantly tidier than Stokes/Jordan's and then see how Plunkett did in the Afghan game - coincidence?

I'd be tempted to open with Ali esp after the last inns and then you'd also have a R/L combo up front. I feel Vince is more adept on this kind of pitch than Roy. Maybe an idea to have Willey floating too and try and keep a R/L combo early on?

And if we have a collapse then please - Rashid comes in above Jordan. Jordan is fine to be promoted in certain situations but surely Rashid has more savvy about his batting and Willey is surely better in any situation

Kasun Amila
on March 26, 2016, 8:15 GMT

If anyone has connection with sl team,pls send this massage to them on behalf of sl cricket lovers: If sl got to semis, we have to play all matches in delhi slow pitch. So pls try with best 3team & same team for these matches. THE BEST LINEUP IS: 1.

JG2704
on March 26, 2016, 7:55 GMT

I feel SL are not AS vulnerable as some make out. They beat Afg more comfortably than we did and while comfortably beaten by WI there were a few umpiring issues. I feel coming off the victory over Afg serves us better than if we played them directly after SA. We SHOULD have learnt that not all pitches out here are 180+ par and that we should not think that because we beat one of the pre tourn faves that other sides will be easier. Having said that , I'm not sure how much we'll have learnt from the Afg game. I think we'll have learnt not to take SL lightly but unfortunately I feel we won't field our best 11 for the pitch/conditions. We should have played Dawson in the last game and if it's a slow pitch he should start this in place of Jordan or Stokes and I'm starting to think Stokes should miss out. He started to show some control with the ball in recent months but seems wayward again. IMO we can't have 2 consistently wayward bowlers in the same side. I'd also find a spot for Vince

jmcilhinney
on March 26, 2016, 7:46 GMT

I'm hoping that England have already had their customary meltdown against Afghanistan but, unlike on previous occasions, they were able to keep their heads enough to still eke out a win and can now get on with playing good cricket. They clearly failed to adjust to the change in pitch conditions from their previous two games so they probably were lucky that they weren't up against an opponent with the firepower to take advantage of it. Hopefully they have the pace of the pitch this time and can give a better account of themselves with the bat.

vkumar_086
on March 26, 2016, 7:34 GMT

Had Upul Tharanga, Sanath Jayasuriya, Murali, Aravinda, Ranathunga, Vaas in the team, they would have crown WC & Asia cup...

Nilmy
on March 26, 2016, 7:34 GMT

Why is Angelo Matthews reluctant to use DILSHAN . He is the best of the srilanka
Part time bowlers. He did not use him in the match against against west indies.
Earlier captains mahela and sanga used him extensively.

Jacqueline.Fernandez
on March 26, 2016, 7:27 GMT

The conclusion that I have been able to make out of comments from the previous matches on this tournament is that if Upul Tharanga had been playing for SL, they would have won WC for sure. If the selectors had selected exactly the opposite set of players, they would have won WC for sure.

sweet2hrme
on March 26, 2016, 7:26 GMT

I want to see SAF in semis thats why praying for SL win. Come on SL... Mathews & Co.. Pl win for SAF. Hope after wining SL's captain say we were playing for SAF. This win dedicated to SAF team. Just waiting to see that....

Jacqueline.Fernandez
on March 26, 2016, 7:18 GMT

The conclusion that I have been able to make out of comments from the previous matches on this tournament is that if Upul Tharanga had been playing for SL, they would have won WC for sure. If the selectors had selected exactly the opposite set of players, they would have won WC for sure.

Cricinfouser
on March 26, 2016, 7:14 GMT

i am starting to see a pattern here.... i fail to understand SL's fascination for itsy bitsy all rounders....

Colombo_International
on March 26, 2016, 7:08 GMT

Even if SL win today they should win by atleast a fair margin unlike sthe so called world's best T20 teams that beats newbies in world cricket by a whopping 1 run margin.

vkumar_086
on March 26, 2016, 7:07 GMT

England is favourites here...the TRANSITION TEAM is lacking in all departments...they have 8 players who were the part of last WC squad...yet they call as TRANSITION TEAM

VKohlitheGreat
on March 26, 2016, 7:04 GMT

Sri Lanka should play the following 11 : dilshan, jayasuriya, arvinda de silva, mahela jayawardene, sangakarra(wk), ranatunga(C), angelo mathews, herath, vaas, malinga, muralitharan... SL should certainly win with this team, eng would have no chance :-P

SamRoy
on March 26, 2016, 6:50 GMT

SL are very, very lucky to be playing in Delhi vs England where though the pitch isn't spinning much but is very, very slow and quite low. Apart from Delhi, Nagpur or Dharamshala if it was any other venue they would have 0 chance of winning vs England. Now if only their batsman can keep their patience and spinners can execute their plans well.

SamWintson92
on March 26, 2016, 6:35 GMT

Kapugedera is a big flow. Isn't there any better batsman in Sri Lanka ???

On the basis of recent performances in Asia Cup 2016 SL are only ahead of AFG in top 10. We have already seen many an upsets in T20WC 2016. With the defeat of strong SA by WI a window of opportunity may have opened for SL to qualify for SF. If SL's big players Dilshan, Matthews & Chandimal fire in matches v ENG & SA they could well upset both the teams. The order of matches also suits SL. It remains to be seen whether SL show the mental toughness to beat ENG who have a weak bowling & fielding unit.

NSDcricket
on March 26, 2016, 6:28 GMT

SL should bring thisara up the order he is wasted down the order... Unfortunately this should have been done long ago to let him get used to the role.. Thirimana puts SL to loosing positions.. He is slow and wastes so many balls and also keeps a better person out of the team. Thisara should come anywhere in the top 4. Sinse its not swining even opening is good.

DilumSL
on March 26, 2016, 6:23 GMT

Good luck to SL. Even we haven't perform well as fans we still have faith on you guys. So make us proud. It will be good for the rest of the tournament if SL wins as it will keep things interesting till the last day. We don't mind loosing if we fought hard. Look at SA yesterday They never give up till the end of the game. They field and bowled well to give some trouble to WI batsman. For today's game drop Kule and bring in Shehan. 1. Chandi 2. Dilshan 3. Lahiru 4.Kapu 5.Mathews 6.Mililnda 7.Shehan 8.Thisara 9.Herath 10.Chameera 11.Vandersy

VKohlitheGreat
on March 26, 2016, 6:20 GMT

I fail to understand SL's fascination for itsy bitsy all rounders who can neither bat nor bowl. Sekkuge Prasanna? Thisara Perera? Chandimal? Strange that they have made it upto here. Dasun Shanaka 24 ball 19 runs in T20? Pick any ranji player, he'll do better.

Jacqueline.Fernandez
on March 26, 2016, 6:07 GMT

I am starting to see a pattern here, the moment SL loses, the number of new names you get to hear on these forums is beyond belief. To name a few, Dhananjaya De Silva, Lahiru Malintha, Lakshan Sandakan, Binura, Vishwa, Chamikara, Amila, Hashan Dumindu, Angelo Perera, Isuru Udana etc. etc. The list can run into miles. Friends, exactly how many players do you want your team to play with here? I say this because every fan here has a team of his own here. The biggest debate between them which I still dunno a solution to is whether Tharanga should play and the endless permutations of who should bat where. Looks like it will be a norm throughout the series & every SL fan here is a selector on its own.

LeeJA
on March 26, 2016, 6:05 GMT

An intriguing contest today where calm heads will likely prevail...whichever top order batsman can bat long will likely win it for their team on this pitch. In that sense England probably have more in their locker. Spin may be important but England showed against Afghanistan that good faith bowling can win it on these pitches. Winning breeds confidence, 2 in 2 for England is momentum...the players are there to continue that

VKohlitheGreat
on March 26, 2016, 6:05 GMT

http://www.espncricinfo.com/new-zealand-v-sri-lanka-2015-16/content/story/953593.html#comments
Suggest all to read this article, an excellent piece this :) One of those after which SL Fans will coin in a new term for their team : SL, best asian team to play short ball, lol..

cluelessjan1
on March 26, 2016, 5:28 GMT

for all those who are suggesting tisara is not an opener ad much as i know. just dont sacrifice his wicket. he should play an innings like watson yesterday. surely we dont want to be all out for seventy nine or less and break the indian record?

DeanAmbroseFanatic
on March 26, 2016, 5:19 GMT

Thisara Perera is wasted at number7/8.He must open.He can emulate Sanath.

Randika1981
on March 26, 2016, 5:13 GMT

SL Team, today is the day! You will win today! Pitch does not matter, decisions does not matter! We need a better fight and I really mean fight with all your strenghts. Make your senior cricketers proud of you.
And specially make Russel Arnold proud of you :)

All the best!!!!!!!

Raj Gunawardena
on March 26, 2016, 5:11 GMT

Well considering current situation dil should open with thisara as most of the time SL loose bcoz of 20-30 runs shortage when they play with slow openers like chandi. (if they don't won't thisara to open then at least send siriwardena or kapu who can at least clear the infield easily). thirimanne doesn't seems to take any responsibility or he does not know how to play as a batsman (i think kula can bat better ). So they can rest him and bring in shehan who can at least help with bowling. Also no 3 & 4 r crucial slots so they should use some guys who can play as proper batsmans & long inning if top two batsman get out quickly. they should try this ; 1) Dili 2) Thisara 3) Chandi 4) Mathews 5) Siri 6) Shehan 7) Kapu 8) Sena 9) Herath 10) Chameera 11) Jefrey. Also for god sake, mathews pls be an aggressive captain..
Also after WC they should get a proper batting coach to support Mr Graham Ford bcoz former batting coch & head coach marvan seems to be the culprit for current poor batting.

Naman
on March 26, 2016, 4:58 GMT

Slight correction. de Kock has 144 runs in Super 10 stage currently. Though I suppose this article was written before yesterday's match.

Jacqueline.Fernandez
on March 26, 2016, 4:56 GMT

http://www.espncricinfo.com/legends-of-cricket/content/site/451900.html
I was just browsing on the site and saw Cricinfo has prepared an excellent page (Celebrating the greatest players in the game) for the TRULY 25 legends of the game wherein Aus has 7, WI & Eng have 5, India with 3, SA & Pak with 2 apiece and NZ has 1. Suggest all to go through this, the only deserving player missing here is ABdV from the recent and current crop of players.

Lmaotsetung
on March 26, 2016, 4:40 GMT

It's single elimination for England from here on out. England needs to think in this way...win 3 matches and they are crowned champions! Nothing more simpler than that! I would love for the SA vs SL match to be a dead rubber :=)

TaklaSaand
on March 26, 2016, 4:30 GMT

Sri Lanka, Afg, Pak and BD should play an Asia cup after this amongst themselves to rejuvenate their confidence levels.

maddy20
on March 26, 2016, 4:14 GMT

Steely England? You mean the steely England that slumped to 89/7 vs Afghanistan? My money is on SL , but only if they pick three spinners!

AuslankaIndia99
on March 26, 2016, 4:07 GMT

Srilanka should open with dilshan and thirimanne and have chandimal , mathews and thisara perera to strengthen the middle order
My playing squad will be: Dilshan, thrimanne, chandimal, t.perera, mathews, kapu, milli, herath, senanayake, chameera, vandersay

SriLankanYoungBlood
on March 26, 2016, 4:06 GMT

If SL want to win Dilshan and Thisara open while chandi play one down.
Pls drop thiri from this game.
If so SL could win this

cluelessjan1
on March 26, 2016, 4:01 GMT

sri lanka has featured in the last two t20 wc finals. its a fact that we are building after exit of star players like murali malinga sanga and mahela. sl is no way out of the tournament yet. may be if this match is won by sl we might end up in the semis playing the mighty aussies.

Prem2248
on March 26, 2016, 3:50 GMT

T'manne & K'gedara should make way for Shehan & NuwanK

Sabi Kara
on March 26, 2016, 3:12 GMT

Sri Lanka should open with tessera Perera and Dilshan, a chandimal play in one down, then srilankan middle order will be strong. Dilshan also needs to bowl couple of overs this also makes them little bit bowling option

Prem2248
on March 26, 2016, 3:11 GMT

SLan correspondent always demoralizes confidence in his countrymen just before the start of every International Match. Most fans are well aware strength and weakness in all teams participating thanks to Cricinfo and the Indian media as a whole.

Prem2248
on March 26, 2016, 3:03 GMT

Is he the SLan correspondent?

peaceful_niece
on March 26, 2016, 2:55 GMT

If Group 2 is the group of death; oh this Group 1 is a group of serve yourself (or group of death amongst the frail) so let us see who is going to be weak among the weak today.
If Srilanka do exit the world cup today itself then it will be very disappointing Asia cup and WT20 for them; they should then play the qualifiers instead of Bangladesh from the next time.

D.S.A
on March 26, 2016, 2:28 GMT

Well, South Africa's defeat enables both England's and Sri Lanka's destiny to be in their own hands. Both teams either want to chase or are better at it, so whoever wins will seemingly bowl first.

For SL, their victory will come from their bowlers winning the game, while their batsmen have got to at least do the bare minimum as they, collectively, are not batting well. SL at least boast 4 spinners, 2 taking the ball away from right-handers (Herath and Vandersay) and 2 taking the ball away from left-handers (Senanayake and Dilshan), so they have got balance there. Chameera, Perera and Mathews give them different pace options throughout the innings, so they can dedicate a few overs of a particular bowler or certain bowlers' allocation to certain batsmen e.g. Herath to Roy and Hales, Dilshan to Morgan, Chameera to Ali etc. P1 of 4.

Ashan N Silva
on March 26, 2016, 2:03 GMT

kapu should bat first six, even though he is not perform well. he can be the man for power play 6. dilshan should ball. sachithra dasun need to include.

Rizwanodayar
on March 26, 2016, 2:00 GMT

I am not arguing of SriLanka plane to go spin heavy with three front line snipers and shifting away with balance aproch as conditions,opposition and and team's own strength probably demand it. But they should have back up plane if things doesn't worked as planed and should have additional seam bowling cover. Best option wold replace Dasun Shanaka in place of one of out of form batsmen, and replacing Thrimanna who look alliance to this format will also revitalize struggling SL batting line up. With this plane it is obvious start the bowling with spinners but they should not waste brand new ball should start with Cahmeera other end and try to have early breakthrough in which case there spines become more potent.

Phil Katon
on March 26, 2016, 1:56 GMT

After losing Mahela and Sanga, SL look on paper a weak batting unit. That said, I can see them taking the game down to the wire, and possibly even winning. England are not the finished article themselves.

sheikhaadilafzal
on March 26, 2016, 0:37 GMT

Srilanka have both bowling and batting weak at this time their fielding also doesn't look good

A.Jayawardene
on March 25, 2016, 23:50 GMT

No wonder the importance of this crunch match to Sri Lanka was seen well in advance by the SL Board president who was upset with Mahela's role.
It is a do or die game for our team.

Janaka.c.Perera
on March 25, 2016, 22:54 GMT

Hey Chandi Please Bat 1 down; you are very slow and rotating score. Siriwardena should open.

D.S.A
on March 25, 2016, 22:12 GMT

With a Sri Lankan batting unit that isn't too confident, and with the overs from Ali, Rashid and Plunkett being fairly bankable, the batsmen have their work cut out. However, Jordan, and especially Stokes, can open the floodgates for runs, so they should be targeted. England might not pick Dawson still, so Root will probably be used for at least 2 overs as a third spinner, especially if there are two left-handers, but surely he shouldn't be able to pose SL's batsmen problems, given how ordinary his bowling is. Willey is likely to open the bowling again, regardless of conditions, so maybe Eng will not use spin until near the end of the powerplay. P4 of 4.

D.S.A
on March 25, 2016, 22:10 GMT

England now have their destiny back in their hands and only require 1 win by any margin, to secure their spot and face New Zealand, most likely, in the semi-finals. Playing spin will be the one stumbling block and 3 out of the top 4 look susceptible to decent spinners. Herath, Senanayake, Dilshan and Vandersay can be classified, at a minimum, as decent spinners, especially Herath. Either him or Vandersay will be bowling early. Morgan has been dismissed by Duminy and Nabi, so can he make it 3 out of 3, and get dismissed by another all-rounder's off-spin in Dilshan? I doubt Root is going to get run out by Stokes again, so he'll challenge that spin threat well. I'm intrigued to see how Buttler does against spin (and if he stays in the crease, at the non-striker's end). I'm anticipating a mankading at some time in this match. P3 of 4.

D.S.A
on March 25, 2016, 22:05 GMT

I don't think Sri Lanka have their correct batting order still. Thirimanne is a very good opener (at least in ODIs; he hasn't opened in T20Is and has been shuffled in the middle-order spots), and he especially likes English bowlers (the last time he faced England, it was in an ODI, and he scored 139 in 142 balls, with 13 fours and 2 sixes). However, those were different conditions and he was facing awful bowlers like Broad and Anderson. Him and Dilshan to open. Mathews is their lynchpin middle-order batsman, and has got to step-up for his country now, so he should be at 3 or 4. Siriwardana can be an effective counter-attacking batsman, so I'd want to see him at 3, and Mathews at 4. Perera shouldn't be batting too low, so him at 5, Kapugedara at 6 and Chandimal at 7. Maybe slight alterations, depending on who is dismissed, to have a left-right combination at the crease for most of the innings. P2 of 4.

Jedthered
on March 25, 2016, 21:57 GMT

It must be the only competition that a team can win one game to determine the chance to lose the next game and still qualify for the next round

D.S.A
on March 25, 2016, 21:55 GMT

Well, South Africa's defeat enables both England's and Sri Lanka's destiny to be in their own hands. Both teams either want to chase or are better at it, so whoever wins will seemingly bowl first.

For SL, their victory will come from their bowlers winning the game, while their batsmen have got to at least do the bare minimum as they, collectively, are not batting well. SL at least boast 4 spinners, 2 taking the ball away from right-handers (Herath and Vandersay) and 2 taking the ball away from left-handers (Senanayake and Dilshan), so they have got balance there. Chameera, Perera and Mathews give them different pace options throughout the innings, so they can dedicate a few overs of a particular bowler or certain bowlers' allocation to certain batsmen e.g. Herath to Roy and Hales, Dilshan to Morgan, Chameera to Ali etc. P1 of 4.

khill44
on March 25, 2016, 21:34 GMT

Well, what do I know , but for all it is worth here goes. Firstly, when (skipper) Morgan is out of form you may as well have Jim Higgs batting in the middle order. Having a captain so badly out of form is unsettling for other batters. Ben Stokes is little better. Both are models of inconsistency. If this pitch is going to be spin friendly, and there's a reasonable chance of that in India, then Dawson should play at the expense of Stokes. The former performed well for the Lions with both bat and ball; on the sub-continent he should do well. No chance of Morgan being dropped, but he should be honest with himself about where he is mentally and bat at number 8. Could well benefit both him and the team.

Aravindade
on March 25, 2016, 21:22 GMT

Sri lankan has three spinners and dilshan,siriwardena wonderful bowling attack,thisara please dont bowl sake of the team until team believe they can win any team .Chameera or mathews can do your job,you can finish the game for sri lanka.you should be concentrate your power hitting again.boys change batting order with players mind set and hit the ball hrad with great responsibility.we all genuine supporters with team.I think chandimal is mature enough to give his position and play like Aravinda and his position without fear as 96 world cup champions,cheers and all the bes

Aravindade
on March 25, 2016, 21:20 GMT

Dear Sri Lankan team,This will be my last msg, I am so so mad with Thirmane and Kapugedara,because they drop catches regularly and very pooooor running between wkts .They are in the team as batsmen.every batsmen should be good fielder,every bowler should be good fielder.that is the basics, they have no great aggression , responsibility we still don't know what they are going to achieve,if sri lankan team wants to keep them pls send thrimanne as opener with dilshan, kapugedara 5th down becuse some players like to play without pressure,thrimanne cant handle pressure but technically correct,kapugedara can paly with pressure. siriwardene should be one down with free licence.then chandimal,kapugedara,angelo,thisra can be force.you have good bowling attack three spinners.

Saahil1008
on March 25, 2016, 20:59 GMT

Sri Lanka should bring Shehan Jayasuriya in place of kapugedra. Kapugedra hasn't fired in this tournament. He should be dropped immediately. The advantage with Jayasuriya is that he adds the spin option for Sri Lanka. If needed Sri Lanka should bowl Dilshan and Siriwardana. Vandersay will play a key role tomorrow. Hope Sri Lanka win tomorrow. Chandimal has to play with more responsibility. He plays too many dot balls and feels the pressure. Chandimal should rotate the strike regularly and not let the pressure come on him. Thirimanne should also do the same. I hope for a better performance from Sri Lanka tomorrow. Go lions.

indianlankacricfan
on March 25, 2016, 20:46 GMT

be aware of Willey. his inswingers are hard to play. he can be the destructer

Cpt.Meanster
on March 25, 2016, 20:15 GMT

SL have a poor future. I am sorry to say this. None of their young players are convincing for international level. I wonder what's happening to their first class system. I remember a few years ago, Sanga in an interview stated he was worried about SL's first class structure which is very much entrenched in the college/university levels and other rich Colombo based sports clubs. He also said not many SL cricketers play in English counties which is a cause for concern. Coming to this match, it's 50-50 to be honest. England can beat SL provided the pitch is not extremely spin friendly. SL on the other hand need to bat, bowl, and field well to beat this ENG team. Should be a good game.

vivzy1993
on March 25, 2016, 20:13 GMT

srilanka team should open with perara and send chandimal to middle order because we need solid players in the middle overs 7 to 15 who can play spin

StraightBatToAStraightBall
on March 25, 2016, 20:12 GMT

England bat deep on paper… all the players down to 11 can clear the ropes handily. Happy that Plunkett's probably playing again too… he can more than do a job with both bat and ball, a strong competitor.

crrkiran
on March 25, 2016, 20:12 GMT

how important are malingas 4 overs. ask a mumbai indians fan he will tell you. sri lankas wc hopes were over when he got injured. He was the main architect of 2014 world t20 final

Tiguna_Lagaan
on March 25, 2016, 20:00 GMT

@VKOHLITHEGREAT leave them alone; they are a team in transition :)

SL_Fan_5
on March 25, 2016, 20:00 GMT

I would play Jayasuriya in place of Senanayake. Either one of them can open the bowling with Chameera. No first over from Mathews or Thisara. 16 overs have to come from the spinners and for god sakes practice some catching.

Hope the bad luck with umpiring was done with the last game.

Alphus
on March 25, 2016, 19:56 GMT

Its a bad time for the Lankan team and if the bad phase wasn't enough Slinga has to sit out.... I hope you guys win against England... Firstly cause it will do your confidence a world of good and Secondly cause I want the Proteas to get a chance to prove their worth....

Thewinner2014
on March 25, 2016, 19:44 GMT

considering the available resources i would like to see the team as 1. Dilshan 2. Shehan 3. Chandimal 4. Shanaka 5. Mathews 6. Siriwardhana 7. Perera 8. Senanayake 9. Herath 10. Vanderay 11 . Chameera. At least if necessary we can use Shanaka as a medium pacer and Shehan as a off spiner. If Both Thiri and Kapu will play.. they do nothing even as fielders. They can't catch the ball cleanly. If u closely observe, both these fall on the ground when ball come nearby allowing the bastmen to take easy 2s. Both should be good as model not as cricketers.

Mayan Handley
on March 25, 2016, 19:39 GMT

sl probably the worst team in the super 10 group, we cant bat we cant bowl we cant field, look at our batting, kapugedara,shehan, are they even club level players? mathews cant keep coming to bat at crunch times and play with 50% strike rate, its like he is playing to make sure that sl loses the game handsomely, he should at-least try to score at run a ball, still on paper he is the best batsmen in this side, he should start to bat like a top order batsmen,not a bs finisher, this is not even a proper international team probably not even worth talking

VKohlitheGreat
on March 25, 2016, 19:04 GMT

If dilshan and herath retire anytime soon, all Sri Lanka will be left with will be their all rounders who can neither bat nor bowl.

viraj09
on March 25, 2016, 18:29 GMT

This will be England's final chance, it's like a quarterfinal for them as their current nrr is poorer than SA's nrr! So if Eng lose this one, SA will go through to semis after beating SL or SL will go through with 3 wins (which is highly unlikely)...A win for SL against Eng will make way for SA in semis

Randika1981
on March 25, 2016, 18:22 GMT

I think SL is lack of tactics and fighting ability. They need to fix this soon. They have enough talent but wasting it. For example getting run out when playing well. Reverse sweep straight into hands, when can clear boundaries straight, Bowling fast bowlers in a slow spinning pitch by keeping spinners in house, (I still believe that in SL vs WI match, Dilshan would have bowled instead Mathews and Kulasekara to give a better fight, regardless winning).
If SL's plan of attack is spin, I think they better include spinner batsman like Shehan Jayasuriya, in place of Sachithra. I feel for Sachithra as he was one of best bowler before changing action of bowling, but not seems to be anymore, unless he comes up with something impressive. Good Luck team SL - Go for the win - You all can do it!!! - Make your fans proud on you guys

vkumar_086
on March 25, 2016, 18:14 GMT

England's win here make two teams to pack the bag...rooting for England...top order should fire tomorrow...Hales, Roy, Root, Morgan, Buttler, Stokes, Moeen Ali...160 is par total on this slow surface...good luck England

mgsperera
on March 25, 2016, 18:10 GMT

if SL wants to win this match they need to remove their negative elements ..Biggest Negative element is Mathews .. His team selection , field placing , bowling changes , temperament , motivation , batting approach & body language all these departments are so negative .worst ever captain has SL produced to world cricket ... As a Lankan I really appropriate the way India played against Banga . "Never give up " attitude ,which we really lacking under Mathews Captaincy ... Even Today SA gave a good fight back to defend their total !!! Pls selectors find a real leader to lead our team ...

needgreenpitches4bowlingallrounders
on March 25, 2016, 17:56 GMT

For all said and done Srilanka has very good chance of making it to semifinals. As long as there batsmen believe in next 2 games against England n south Africa! !!

vallavarayar
on March 25, 2016, 17:54 GMT

Sri Lanka's batting order is there just to make up the numbers. Except Dilshan perhaps, their top six wouldn't make it into an associate team let alone a supposed major power. Angelo Mathews is such a loser.

Vivek Sarathi
on March 25, 2016, 17:46 GMT

big match for group B. table decider!. If england win group is closed. england and west indies goes directly to semifinal. if not, there will be a chance for srilanka and south africa in next match.even england also have chance. but everything will be decided with NRR after tomorrow match

Janakeesan Murugathas
on March 25, 2016, 17:45 GMT

Good team slection! Sl come to win tomarrow

gnanzcupid
on March 25, 2016, 17:44 GMT

Lankan fans will believe that current lankan team beating England is equal to a wc victory. So go lions

Dhawala05
on March 25, 2016, 17:44 GMT

Srilanka please we want to see you guyz winning this game fir our nation we are always with you Go lankan lions go for the victory

Miz911
on March 25, 2016, 17:39 GMT

SL should play 3 spinners and personaly I would try jayasuriya or Shanaka instead of Thirimanne. Jayasuriya and Shanaka power Hitters. Also Thisara should bat up the order and a spinner should open up the bowling as we witnessed the struggle with the Afghans.

landl47
on March 25, 2016, 17:39 GMT

WI win over SA means that if England wins they are in the semis. SL also still have a chance if they can beat England and SA, or beat England, lose to SA but have the best NRR. So it's all to play for!

budhan04
on March 25, 2016, 17:21 GMT

Thisara perara can be perfect opener, pls do it SL team selector

Suren Thomas
on March 25, 2016, 17:17 GMT

Match is in Delhi so team should consist with 3 spinners. If we are chasing for a big score thisara perera should open with Dilshan. In that way chandi can give a solidity to the middle order. Mathews should be more aggressive in his approach rather then waiting for the things to happen. Get fielders in to stop singles and try to go for the wickets rather then waiting for the batman to make mistake. Srilanka have the talent to topple the England we should be aggressive in our approach. Cheers lanka we are with you...

Thewinner2014
on March 25, 2016, 17:09 GMT

SL is becoming worst country who can't play against spin bowling. hope tomorrow they won't make Ali and Rashid world class spinners which SL has been doing for sometime.

Thewinner2014
on March 25, 2016, 17:07 GMT

This should be the deciding match for the T20 international career of several SL players like Thirimanne, Kapugedara and Kulasekara. Bcoz They hv become pasengers of SL team with Siriwardhana. Did nothing as batsmen , bowler or fielders. There should be no excuse. Thirimanne and Kapugedara never get any chance of countless opportunities. How many comebacks did Kapu have ? everytime they hv shown that they are just below average club cricketers. Hope Kule will retire at the end of the series. He has become a run machine for opposite team for last 3 / 4 yrs.

Herath-UK
on March 25, 2016, 16:45 GMT

If we win the toss should field first definitely. Hope Thrimanne & Kapugedera & Siriwardena do a decent job tomorrow otherwise should be axed for a reasonable time, they should score when it matters at the business end. As spin may be the key, will Jayasuriya be slotted in for Kula for his batting (though Senanayake has his credentials as you say) ,opening the bowling with Dilshan for an over or two.

Colombo_International
on March 25, 2016, 15:56 GMT

Sri Lanka received lot of bad umpiring decisions even during the last T20 , specially Kusal Perera but due to the strong middle order they managed to overcome those. But this time around they don't have that strong experienced middle order to cope with early loss of wickets, if Dilshan or Chandimal gets a bad decision.

crrkiran
on March 25, 2016, 15:52 GMT

England will crush sri lanka tommorow. without malinga sri lanka are toothless. This group will be decide tommorow with west indies and england qualifying for semi finals

goldeneye075
on March 25, 2016, 15:45 GMT

Going to be an interesting game... Tough ask for the Sri Lanka !!!

gnanzcupid
on March 25, 2016, 15:21 GMT

Liked your preview Andrew
"If it's Sri Lanka's spinners England are worried about, Sri Lanka should be worried about Sri Lanka's batsmen"--sums it up nicely.if dilly fails lankans are folding like a pack of cards. Lanka should find a way out. So its dilshan, herath vs England. Hope they don't retire soon

No featured comments at the moment.

gnanzcupid
on March 25, 2016, 15:21 GMT

Liked your preview Andrew
"If it's Sri Lanka's spinners England are worried about, Sri Lanka should be worried about Sri Lanka's batsmen"--sums it up nicely.if dilly fails lankans are folding like a pack of cards. Lanka should find a way out. So its dilshan, herath vs England. Hope they don't retire soon

goldeneye075
on March 25, 2016, 15:45 GMT

Going to be an interesting game... Tough ask for the Sri Lanka !!!

crrkiran
on March 25, 2016, 15:52 GMT

England will crush sri lanka tommorow. without malinga sri lanka are toothless. This group will be decide tommorow with west indies and england qualifying for semi finals

Colombo_International
on March 25, 2016, 15:56 GMT

Sri Lanka received lot of bad umpiring decisions even during the last T20 , specially Kusal Perera but due to the strong middle order they managed to overcome those. But this time around they don't have that strong experienced middle order to cope with early loss of wickets, if Dilshan or Chandimal gets a bad decision.

Herath-UK
on March 25, 2016, 16:45 GMT

If we win the toss should field first definitely. Hope Thrimanne & Kapugedera & Siriwardena do a decent job tomorrow otherwise should be axed for a reasonable time, they should score when it matters at the business end. As spin may be the key, will Jayasuriya be slotted in for Kula for his batting (though Senanayake has his credentials as you say) ,opening the bowling with Dilshan for an over or two.

Thewinner2014
on March 25, 2016, 17:07 GMT

This should be the deciding match for the T20 international career of several SL players like Thirimanne, Kapugedara and Kulasekara. Bcoz They hv become pasengers of SL team with Siriwardhana. Did nothing as batsmen , bowler or fielders. There should be no excuse. Thirimanne and Kapugedara never get any chance of countless opportunities. How many comebacks did Kapu have ? everytime they hv shown that they are just below average club cricketers. Hope Kule will retire at the end of the series. He has become a run machine for opposite team for last 3 / 4 yrs.

Thewinner2014
on March 25, 2016, 17:09 GMT

SL is becoming worst country who can't play against spin bowling. hope tomorrow they won't make Ali and Rashid world class spinners which SL has been doing for sometime.

Suren Thomas
on March 25, 2016, 17:17 GMT

Match is in Delhi so team should consist with 3 spinners. If we are chasing for a big score thisara perera should open with Dilshan. In that way chandi can give a solidity to the middle order. Mathews should be more aggressive in his approach rather then waiting for the things to happen. Get fielders in to stop singles and try to go for the wickets rather then waiting for the batman to make mistake. Srilanka have the talent to topple the England we should be aggressive in our approach. Cheers lanka we are with you...

budhan04
on March 25, 2016, 17:21 GMT

Thisara perara can be perfect opener, pls do it SL team selector

landl47
on March 25, 2016, 17:39 GMT

WI win over SA means that if England wins they are in the semis. SL also still have a chance if they can beat England and SA, or beat England, lose to SA but have the best NRR. So it's all to play for!